


we're better off together here tonight

by humanluke



Series: escort AU [1]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Drinking, Escort Service, Holiday Fic Exchange, M/M, Rating for implied sexual content, the one where ashton is a movie star and luke is an escort, there's a sprinkle of side malum too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28182258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanluke/pseuds/humanluke
Summary: When Luke starts servicing movie star Ashton Irwin as part of his job as an escort, things get a little more serious than expected.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford/Calum Hood
Series: escort AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084829
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	we're better off together here tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [softirwin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/softirwin/gifts).



> hello welcome to the club's 2020 fic exchange!!!!! this was written for the one, the only, the amazing [helen](http://calumcest.tumblr.com)!!! when i received you for my fic exchange recipient, helen, i was immediately stressed because i felt like i had so much to live up to!!! but i hope that you love what i've come up with here! getting to know you and everyone else in the club over these past 3 months has been life changing for me, and i wouldn't be here writing if it wasn't for you guys!!! 
> 
> enjoy!

Luke looks at the address on his phone a few times, then back up at the building in front of him a few times, blinking a little in the starlight. It’s almost midnight, and when he’d gotten in a work request to service a new client, he hadn’t expected that this is where he was going to end up. He waved off his taxi after paying the fare, looking up again at the large apartment building in front of him. He hadn’t recognized the address before, but he knows now that this is one of the most expensive places to live in town (he’d remembered coming across it when he was searching for a place of his own a few months back.) 

He feels nervous, walking up to the door. He’d never really even looked closely at the name of the client — not that it mattered. Someone at a place like this was bound to use an alias anyways; he was certain of that. So he just makes his way up to the door, the doorman opening the door for him. His cheek redden a little bit — he isn’t used to getting doors held open for him very often. 

“Can I help you?” he asks, a smile on his face. Luke looks down at his phone, looking at the apartment number on his phone before holding it up to him. 

“I have an appointment at this apartment?” he asks softly. “My boss sent me.” The doorman looks at the address and furrows his brow a little bit. Luke feels suddenly uncomfortable — he hates feeling like he’s being judged like this. His fingers run through his blond curls nervously as he watches him cross over to his desk and call up to whichever apartment it is he has business at. He stands by the door awkwardly as he has a conversation with whoever his client was for the night, looking around the lush lobby of the large building. He’s a little impressed at the sights — he’d been to a handful of nice places before, but nothing as nice as this place was. He was a little curious as to who in a place like this would be calling on him. But he adds mentally that this may mean a big tip, so he’s not going to complain. 

He watches as the doorman hangs the phone, pinching the bridge of his nose as he gestures with his other hand to the elevator. “He’s in the penthouse, top floor,” he says with a sigh. Luke just offers him a lukewarm smile, shoving his phone back into his pocket as he makes his way towards the elevator. He presses the button to go up, rocking on his heels a little bit. The doorman gives him a look, and he wonders for a beat if he knows what his profession is. He doesn’t think that he knows, but he really doesn’t care either way. He smiles at him and waves when the elevator dings, stepping inside and pressing the button for the top floor. 

The ride up to the penthouse is long — Luke wonders to himself what kind of person he would meet up there on the top floor. Obviously if they’re living up in the penthouse, they must have some kind of importance, especially in a place like this. It was expensive as is to live here — he had to be a multimillionaire (or billionaire, at that) to be able to afford it. He wonders briefly if he’ll recognize the man, whoever they are. They have to have some semblance of importance. 

The elevator dings and the door opens on the top floor, and Luke looks around, running his fingers through his curls. He hopes he looks presentable enough before stepping up to the door. He knocks a few times, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waits for the door to swing open. 

And when it does, he isn’t disappointed. 

On the other side of the door stands an apprehensive looking Ashton Irwin, tumbler of whisky in his hand that isn’t on the doorframe. Makes sense to him that he’s loosening himself up with alcohol — most first time clients do it. Having sex with a stranger can be hard for plenty of people, but especially for someone with status -- that’s what Luke is for. 

“You must be Cameron,” he says, voice firm despite how shaken he looks, Luke’s working name rolling off of his tongue easily. Luke doesn’t comment on his demeanor, just offers him a soft smile and his hand. 

“That would be me,” he says. “Pleasure to meet you, sir. May I come in…?” Ashton nods a little bit, stepping out of the way. He hasn’t properly introduced himself yet, but Luke knows exactly who the man is. One of the most sought after actors in Hollywood, actually. He understands why he would have been reluctant to leave his name, and Luke wonders briefly if he’s going to have to sign an NDA before he does his job. That would be a first for him, he thinks. He steps into the lush apartment, but finds it fairly barren. He thinks he must not spend much time here, being so busy with work, but it makes the penthouse feel more like a hotel than anything. 

Luke stands by the door almost awkwardly, unsure of what to do with himself. He always waits for the go ahead before he makes himself at home, makes himself comfortable. He’s even more apprehensive to do so in the presence of someone like Ashton Irwin. He watches as he shuts the door behind the two of them, gesturing towards the next room over. Luke thinks that must be where the bedroom is. 

“You can leave your coat and shoes by the door, if you’d like,” he says. “Can I… get you a drink?” He shoves his free hand into his pants pocket, and Luke is a little in love with the look of him. To be fair, Ashton was actually on his list of celebrities that he would want to sleep with, and know he gets to be paid for it. All in a day’s work, he supposes, and he stays professional as he shrugs off his coat and steps out of his glittery boots. 

“Typically I don’t drink when I’m with clients unless they really want me to,” he says firmly. “Would it make you more comfortable if I had something to drink too?” 

“Yes,” Ashton says, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Luke smiles softly at him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m just here to make you feel good,” he says gently. “I’m not going to do anything without your permission, okay? Why don’t you get me that drink and then we can talk about what you want to do tonight, yeah?” Luke was usually pretty good at calming people down — he’d had enough experiences with first timers that he usually knew how they felt. He’d felt that way at one point too, when he’d first started. Ashton seemed to relax under his gentle touch and nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, let’s… let’s do that,” he says slowly, but surely. He starts towards the kitchen, and Luke follows him, looking around at the white and mostly bare walls, trying to get a read on the other man. He has very little to work with, other than his general knowledge of the man (not that it’s a small amount, but he would rather hear about him from him than go off of what he’s heard in a tabloid). He watches as he opens up a rather large looking liquor cabinet, gesturing towards it. “Pick your poison.” 

Luke looks through the cabinet, admiring the many expensive looking bottles that were hanging in the cabinet. His hand finally falls on the bottle of vodka, grinning at him a little bit. “A vodka soda would be nice, I think,” he says easily. Ashton takes the bottle out of the cabinet, heading to the fridge to get the club soda from it. 

“One vodka soda it is,” he hums easily. He puts the vodka into a nice glass followed by the soda, garnishing it with a lime before putting the rest away and offering him the glass. “There you are, Cameron.” Luke offers him a gentle smile, taking it from him, his own fingers sliding over his as he takes the glass. Ashton almost blushes, clearing his throat and picking his whisky back up off of the counter. “Oh, uh, I’m Ashton, by the way. I’m sure you… knew that, but I just realized I didn’t introduce myself. That was rude of me.” Luke waves it off, taking a sip of the vodka soda. It was one of the better ones he’s had, if he’s being honest. 

“Understandable, I’m sure you’re nervous,” he says smoothly. “This drink is impeccable, by the way, where did you learn to make it so easily?” Small talk usually made clients less nervous, he’d noticed. He watches Ashton relax, just a bit, leaning against the marble of the kitchen counter. The less tense he is, the better, Luke thinks to himself. It’s his job to relieve the tension, not cause more of it. 

“Before I made it big, I was a bartender, believe it or not,” he laughs softly. “So I know my way around a drink or two.” Ashton’s fame was relatively new, Luke remembered. He’s only been acting for a couple of years, and he’s not much older than Luke is, maybe a couple of years. He didn’t even begin to think about how he’d been a person before he’d been famous, which was a rude thought for him to have. “What, uh, drew you to your profession? If you don’t mind my asking. You’re very handsome.” Luke can feel his cheeks darken a little from the compliment -- usually it was much easier to receive compliments, but getting one from someone like Ashton was a new level of enlightenment. 

“Needed some extra money when I moved out here, and it is the easiest and best paying job that I’ve ever had,” he shrugs. “I get to make my own hours, my own schedule for the most part, and it doesn’t interfere with me pursuing my own dreams, if I ever really want to.” He smiles easily and takes another sip of his drink. “Which is a novelist, in case you were wondering.” Ashton smiles softly, nodding as he nurses his own drink. 

“You’re pretty good with words, I could see you being successful at something like that,” he says with a soft grin. “I stumbled into my career almost entirely by accident, you know? Now I have people fight over me for roles and I get a small mountain of scripts daily.” He shakes his head a little bit. “It’s good to just be human for a little bit.” Luke nods in agreement. 

“I can fully agree with that,” he says with a soft grin. He finishes off his drink easily, the alcohol bubbling in his system like liquid courage. Not that he needed it -- he was more than comfortable in his own skin. But it definitely eased the process. He sets his empty glass on the counter, looking Ashton over in the least invasive way. “Did you want to go to the bedroom and we can get started? Talk about what we’re going to be doing here tonight?” As great of a time he was having talking with the actor, he knew that they couldn’t stand around all evening, and Luke got paid hourly. (Not that he wasn’t certain that he could afford it, he just didn’t think he’d want to pay the 300 an hour he cost just for some conversation.)

He watches as Ashton downs the rest of his own drink, his edges seeming a little more smoothed over with their easy conversation and the help of the alcohol. He sets his empty glass down on the counter, gesturing for Luke to follow him as he heads towards their destination. He admires the way that Ashton’s muscles ripple underneath his sheer dress shirt, glad that this is someone that makes it easy enough for him to be ready for anything needed. Ashton holds the bedroom door open for him, and Luke looks around the room. It’s much cozier than any of the other rooms in the house, he thinks, art hanging on the walls and pictures of friends and family around the room. The bed is large and inviting with a large, plush looking comforter, and Luke thinks when he gets on it he may not ever want to leave it. 

Ashton sits down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to him, inviting him to sit. Luke obliges, sitting down next to him. His suspicions were confirmed -- he did indeed want to stay on this bed for the rest of his life. He settles into his spot, looking over at him with a gentle smile as he crosses his ankles. He looks at Ashton’s face, his expression unreadable as he seems to be thinking about what to do next. Luke scoots a little closer, their outer thighs brushing against one another, and he looks to Luke immediately, the contact between them electric. 

“Do you want to start with kissing me and then see where it goes from there?” Luke offers. Ashton bites his lip, thinking it over for a beat. Luke lets him think about it, take his time. He didn’t mind. He was the one paying, he was the one calling the shots. He was just along for the ride. 

“That would be a good place to start, I think,” he decides after a minute. Luke smiles at him, sliding a delicate hand over his jaw before leaning in and kissing him gently on the mouth, starting slowly as not to rush him. Ashton tasted like whisky and mint toothpaste and expensive tastes, easily reciprocating his kiss, mouth moving slowly against his own. Luke could feel he was still nervous, keeping his hands to himself as they kiss. Luke pulls back a little bit, sliding his hands over Ashton’s, taking them into his own. 

“You’re allowed to touch me, Ashton,” he says, a sparkle in his cerulean eyes. Ashton blushes slightly but nods, and Luke pulls him back into the kiss, a little more ferocity behind it this time as Ashton’s tentative hand finds its way into his curls. Luke smiles a little bit against his mouth, letting Ashton take the reins from him as he tugs gently at the curls, tilting his chin and opening his mouth against him, giving Luke a real taste of him as he deepens the kiss. 

It doesn’t take long before Ashton is pushing Luke back onto the mattress, hovering over him as he kisses gently down the length of his neck, one hand still firm in his hair as their mouths meet again, messy and needy. Luke’s a little surprised at himself -- usually everything is so straightforward with a client, calculated, almost planned in advance. But this feels different. He brushes the thought aside, his own hand fisting into Ashton’s curls as he pulls back, mouth red and shiny as he looks down at him. His hazel eyes are searching for something -- for what, Luke isn’t sure, but they’re definitely looking. 

“How about you let me make you feel good?” Luke offers, his hand slowly sliding down his chest as he looks up at him. Ashton’s breath hitches in his throat as Luke’s fingers stop at the waist of his pants, looking up at him with those big blue eyes, his lashes fluttering against his cheekbones as he smiles coyly up at him. Ashton just nods a little bit, and they switch positions, and everything becomes a blur of too much and not enough, a choir of ‘please’ and ‘more’ and ‘god, yes’ filling the empty corners of the room.

☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。

This goes on for a while. A few months, actually. Luke’s never really had a regular customer before -- he’s had a few here and there that have asked for him on occasion, but never someone who asked for him and him alone. Maybe it was the nerves, or maybe it was the fact that he was so high profile that he didn’t want to risk anyone else but him finding out about what he was doing. (Plus, Luke thinks, it might be silly to have someone else have to sign the ridiculous stack of papers that comprised the NDA he’d had to fill out to swear him to secrecy.)

He spends night after night at Ashton’s, at least three times a week. Mostly it’s just sex, and then he’ll go home afterwards. Sometimes, Ashton will have dinner with him. He’ll ask if he wants to watch a stupid movie or just spend time with him, keep him company while he looks over scripts on occasion. Those are Luke’s favorite nights -- getting paid to watch Ashton read over scripts, sometimes even being allowed to look over them himself, the two of them scrutinizing the terrible and being mildly impressed by some of the better ones. (Ashton tells him on one occasion he’s sure that whatever he writes is better than any of the garbage that he reads. Luke blushes and tells him to cut it out before he gets pulled onto the desk with a devilish grin.)

Luke finds himself thinking of Ashton at times he’s with other customers -- almost slipping up and saying his name at times when he’s in the heat of it. He considers maybe closing himself off to other customers while Ashton is still utilizing him -- between the amount of times he asks him to stay the night (and he’ll pay him for the whole night, guaranteed), the tips he’s left him, the occasional gift he’s received (flowers, food, a nice new sparkly pair of boots that were to die for), he could more than afford his lifestyle on just Ashton. 

But he also knew it was dangerous to get too close, get too focused on one client like that. Sure, he was a multi-millionaire movie star with an abundance of cash to keep him satisfied both on the job, and off, but he was a public figure, too, so he knew sooner or later he would leave, and move on to a real relationship with some other Hollywood star, he was certain of it. He couldn’t get his hopes up just to be dashed in a daze -- he wouldn’t allow it of himself. 

So he kept his distance when he was there from time to time. Still did his job, still made him feel good, loved, wanted, whatever he needed that night, but he tried to be a little more professional about it. He could already feel himself catching feelings, and he didn’t like that. The regularity of them seeing one another was tricking his heart and brain into thinking this could be something that it’s not, something it couldn’t ever be. He reminded himself of that whenever he was with another client. He wasn’t someone who could be loved and adored like Ashton was by the general public -- no, he was just something to be used and tossed aside with some cash once they’d had their fun. 

He was an overpriced sex toy. That’s all that he would ever be, and he knew that. 

Once he had thoroughly convinced himself of that, reminded himself of that like he has to every once in a while, things were fine. He would go to Ashton’s, do his job, and stay only if explicitly asked to. (Usually, if Ashton asked him to stay, he would make an excuse anyways, and say he had another client to service after him. He pretends not to notice the hurt on his face when he lies like that.)

☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。

They’re together again, on another night, Ashton sprawled out on his plush bed after Luke’s finished his job. He’s watching him with thoughtful eyes, almost as though he’s trying to settle on the right thing to say, trying to pluck the words from his head in the correct order as not to upset Luke or get the wrong answer from him tonight. Luke’s pulling his pants on, getting ready to leave.

“Won’t you stay the night?” Ashton says, his voice soft. Luke’s refused the last handful of times, but Ashton’s made sure nothing can get in the way of it tonight. “Please? I could really… use the company tonight.” He’s wringing his hands together nervously, as if something else is bothering him entirely. Luke takes one look at his expression, and he doesn’t want to see that hurt look on Ashton’s face tonight. But he knows better than to stay with him. 

“I can’t tonight, I have another client.” The lie rolls so easily off of his tongue, just like everything else he does with him. Everything here, with Ashton, it’s a lie. Even his name is fake. He hates that, for the first time in his life, he thinks. That this can’t be real, that everything has to be fake. But he also reminds himself that Ashton comes from the movie business. Everything is fake there, anyways. 

“I booked you for the whole night,” Ashton continues, and there’s a hint of hurt in his voice. Luke pretends he doesn’t hear it. “So either the company you work for has double booked you, or you’re just lying to me. You can be honest with me, you know that, right, Cameron?” Luke flinches at the fake name, hating how it sounds so sad and sour in Ashton’s mouth right now. He’d give anything right now to hear his real name from his mouth, see how it falls off of his tongue and hangs in the air of the room. He shakes it from his brain, knowing it’s a stupid thought, reminding himself again he’s not worthy of his time unless he’s being paid for it. 

“It’s not my job to be honest, it’s my job to keep you happy,” he says, pulling his shirt back on. “I’m not obliged to stay unless you’ve booked me for the whole night. And since you have, then I’ll stay.” He hates how mechanical and calculated the words sound coming from his mouth, like a rehearsed script. He wants nothing more than to be honest with Ashton right now, but that would probably violate the NDA he signed, or his work contract, so he just sits himself at the edge of the bed, tight lipped and quiet as he waits for Ashton to make the next move. 

He feels the bed dip next to him, and Ashton takes the spot beside him. His body is still radiating heat, still warm and worked up from their activities. He sets his hand on Luke’s clothed thigh gently, and Luke turns to look at him. He’s certain he’s never seen more emotion in a man’s eyes than he is right now. No wonder why Ashton was such a fucking good actor, with that kind of range in his eyes alone. 

“Look. I know I’m just supposed to be, like, a client to you, and I’m a celebrity and all that bullshit and everything, but…” he trails off for a moment, taking a breath as he turns to unleash his thoughts. “I would want nothing more than for you to be here every night, work or not. I enjoy spending time with you. You’re the only fucking person who’s made me feel like a fucking human being and not someone who needs to be put up on a pedestal and worshipped by the greater public, you know? And I know that this is definitely out of left field, and you’re just doing your job, I get that, so if you don’t ever want to see me again, that’s perfectly fine, but… I care about you, Cameron. You and I… I think we could be something great together.” He’s wringing his hands together on his lap, the nerves overwhelming. Luke’s brain is scrambling, trying to find the right thing to say. He knows what he should say, because of his job. 

But Ashton Irwin is looking at him like that and he can feel himself breaking into a million little pieces because he knows that he’s not worthy of his love. He swallows hard, pressing his sweaty palms against his jeans, and pulls himself up from the bed. 

“I… I have to go.” He turns to Ashton, whose look of betrayal and hurt clouded all of his features, and Luke could feel his heart plummet to the bottom of his stomach as he clenches the hem of his shirt. “I… I can’t do this with you, anymore. I’m sorry. You don’t… have to pay for tonight. I’ll just go.” He turns to leave, and Ashton catches his hand, tugging on it gently. Luke can’t bring himself to look back at him -- if he does, he’ll either cry, or he’ll stay, or both, and he can’t do that, he fucking knows he can’t. 

“I’ll still pay you,” he says softly, and he can hear the sting in the edges of his voice and it tugs at his heart, the cracks becoming more prominent with every second that passes by. “Thank you, for your time, Cameron. It meant a lot to me.” He lets go of his hand, and Luke heads for the door, pausing for a beat before saying one last thing before he goes. 

“My name is Luke.”

☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。

A few weeks pass by. Luke tries to go back to his life before he’d met Ashton, from before he’d been sent up to his penthouse to service him that first time. He can’t help but think of him almost constantly -- he’s always on his mind. He does his best to keep him out of his brain while he’s with other clients, always professional and making sure not to slip up.

He spends his time at home working on writing, trying to hone his craft, finally inspired enough to start tackling a larger project than a short story. He chalks it up to finally having the courage to write something for himself, but he knows the real inspiration behind it. He spends hours at the computer, sticky notes littering his desk along with empty coffee cups and wrappers from the incessant snacking. 

It’s a night he has off -- well, he’s had a few lately. Once he’d put in his request to not be requested by Ashton anymore, his manager told him to take some time off. He was still working regularly, but only two or three days a week at most. He didn’t know what to do with himself most nights, so used to working nonstop that he’d thrown himself into this cycle of trying to create content that was never ending. 

This night in particular, however, he was sitting in front of his tv, trying to find something to watch as he poked at his chinese food he’d ordered. He’d passed by 2 separate movies on the television with Ashton on them, and he was frustrated by it. He hated that he’d ruined everything they’d had between them -- he hated that he’d done this to the both of them. He knew he wasn’t in a position where he could have given Ashton what he wanted. He didn’t even know who he really was at the time, so he couldn’t have possibly actually liked him as anything more than someone to keep his bed warm, to satisfy him, to fill a hole he doesn’t have the time to fill with his busy schedule. 

Luke runs his fingers through his curls, exasperated as he turns the tv off after a third promo for something starring Ashton flashes across his screen. His chest feels empty where his heart is supposed to be, and he’s unfamiliar with the feeling. His entire adult life has been dedicated to pleasing other people. He’s never been one to care much about his own feelings in any way or form. He needs to get out of his head, he decides. 

So he settles on trying to lose himself in someone else, for fun for once, he thinks. 

He puts his leftovers away, going to his room and changing out of the sweatpants and baggy shirt he’d been wearing on and off for a few days, not bothering on dressing up if he’s not going anywhere. Once he’s comfortably dressed, he looks at himself in the mirror, making sure to add just the right amount of glitter to his face. He smooths his hands over his silk shirt, half buttoned as he admires himself, in an attempt to make himself feel a little better about himself.

He’s stepping into his boots (the new ones, the nice ones Ashton got him that he has half a mind to return to him) when there’s a knock at his door. That makes Luke pause a little bit -- he hadn’t asked anyone over, that’s for sure, and he didn’t have many friends to begin with so he’s not exactly certain why someone would be at his door. 

It feels like a kick to the stomach when he opens his door and Ashton is standing on the other side, looking nervous like someone is going to catch him, but also looking a little hopeless as he looks up at him. Luke’s entire body tenses as he hovers in the doorway, unsure of what to do or say as his eyes meet those hazels, full of confusion and a hint of hope upon seeing Luke open the door. Luke finally finds his words, gripping the door a little harder in his hand. 

“What -- what are you doing here,” he says, his voice hoarse, like he hasn’t been using it much. Really it’s just nerves, the anxiety bubbling in his chest, taking over his body. “How did you even… find me, jesus christ…” He’s started wringing his hands nervously in front of him, leaning his body against the door. His heart was racing, but he was glad to see Ashton. He’s not certain he’s ever had a feeling quite like this one before, this fluttering in his chest and stomach amidst the anxieties that came along with the fact that Ashton Irwin was on his doorstep once again. 

“I couldn’t live with the way you’d said goodbye,” Ashton says softly, wringing his own hands in front of him. “My doorman -- he’d mentioned the two of you had become friends, he… told me where I could find you…” He looks a little ashamed for a moment, and Luke curses the friendship he’d curated with Michael, the doorman at Ashton’s building, in that moment. He shakes it off, however, running a shaky hand through his curls. “I just… I know you said you didn’t want something with me. I just… couldn’t stop thinking about you, so I came here. For… closure. To make sure you meant it when you said you didn’t want that. I know, because of your job, and my job, things could be… difficult, but… I do really like you, Luke.” Hearing his real name roll off of Ashton’s tongue was a foreign form of serotonin. 

Luke stands there in his doorway, looking at Ashton for a moment, biting his lip as he tries to mull over his options. He wasn’t working, he wasn’t obligated to say no to Ashton, but he was still one of his former clients. He was still someone he’d worked for, had received payment from, had been with intimately for his job. He’s not sure what to do at all. He wants to follow his heart, more than anything, but his job could potentially be on the line. So he just opens the door a little wider, gesturing. 

“Why don’t you come inside,” he says softly. “While I think about it? I don’t… want to leave you hanging out in the dark.” Ashton shakes his head a little bit, and he reaches into his jacket to hand Luke something. 

“I have somewhere to be, but this is a ticket to my movie premiere next weekend,” he says. “I’d like for you to come as my date, if that’s what you decide. If you come, I’ll know that this is what you want. If not… then it’s been nice to know you, Luke.” He offers him a watery smile, shoving his hands into his pockets and turning away, getting back into his car and driving into the night. 

Luke stands in the doorway of his apartment, looking at the pass in his hand, and suddenly, he’s all dolled up with nowhere to go and a heavy decision to make.

☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。☆。*。☆。

Luke isn’t certain he’s ever been so nervous in his entire life for anything at all. Not even his first night working.

It’s the morning of the premiere, and he’s finally made up his mind. He knows what he needs to do, knows what’s best for him in this situation. He knows he needs to be happy. He know what makes him happy, he’s just always been such a fucking coward that he hasn’t been able to pursue it properly. Or been able to find the right person to pursue it with. 

Which is why he’s walking into the lobby of Ashton’s building currently, running his hand through his curls nervously. Michael is at the front desk, looking up from his conversation with Ashton’s bodyguard. (Calum, he remembers vividly, he’s had a few conversations with him before. And remembers that Michael never shuts up about him and his big fat crush on him.) He cocks an eyebrow at him, almost shocked to see him striding through the door. 

“Luke, what are you doing here? I thought you were done,” Michael asks, furrowing his brow a little bit. Calum watches him carefully, eyes sharp on him like he’s staring right through him. Luke swallows a little bit, feeling a little intimidated. He knows what he’s done, and why he’s shit for it, but he’s determined to fix this. He doesn’t care what happens after today. He knows what he wants, and for once in his life, he’s going to fucking do something about it. 

“I’m here to make things right,” he says, before turning on his heel and heading to the elevator. He presses the button, stepping into the elevator and pressing the top floor button once he’s on the inside. His heart is racing in his chest, threatening to jackhammer through his ribs entirely. He breathes, trying to calm his frayed nerves as the elevator makes its way up to the penthouse. It’s been weeks since he’s taken this elevator ride, but it’s still as comforting as it usually is when he’d come to see Ashton. 

He takes a breath as he hears the ding when he approaches the top floor, door opening for him. He steps out of it, shaking himself out a little, trying to shake off the last of his anxieties before he walks up to Ashton’s door.

He knocks at it, standing there in the silence for a few minutes, waiting to see if he was going to come. His mind was running at a million miles an hour, making up all kinds of scenarios that could potentially happen in this moment. He exhales when the door opens, Ashton on the other side. He watches the other man light up a little at the sight of him, and he breaks the distance between them, leaning in and kissing him hard on the mouth. 

They stand there for a minute, kissing in the doorway of Ashton’s apartment, and any fear or doubt that had ever run through Luke’s head melted away under his touch. Ashton had always had that effect on him, even when he was just a client. He could make him forget that he had any problems at all. Ashton is the first to pull back, hands gentle on Luke’s jaw as he looks at him, the look in his eyes almost incredulous. 

“I didn’t think you were going to come,” he says, exasperation in his voice as he looks him over. Luke offers him a soft smile, placing a hand on his chest gently as he smiles down at him. 

“You’re the one offer I could never refuse,” he says with a laugh, eyes soft as they meet Ashton’s hazels. “I can’t give you up, I care about you too much… I don’t care what happens past that. I just… want to be with you. No matter what it takes.” Ashton smiles at him, hands firm on his jaw as he kisses him again. 

“We’re going to be something great, I promise you that, Luke.”

**Author's Note:**

> come hang out with me on [tumblr](http://cakelftv.tumblr.com) and yell at me about 5sos and other stuff!


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